Western women get much-needed win

Tuesday

Stuck in a three-game losing skid, the Western Illinois women’s basketball team was a squad in need of a win.

With William Woods in town Tuesday night, chances looked good for a Leatherneck victory.

Western had to fight for 40 minutes, but WIU was able to get that win and snap the losing streak, topping the Owls 81-73 at Western Hall.

“I think we needed to get back in the winning column as a way to build confidence in some players and get them to remember that we’re capable of getting wins,” WIU senior Taylor Higginbotham (12 points, four assists, four steals, five rebounds) said. “We had a hard time, we had a hard stretch where we played some good teams and we may not have been playing our best basketball at some points but we also had points where we played some good basketball and we can see that level where we can be and where we want to be.

“We’re going to keep getting better and stay in that winning column.”

It was a slog throughout as Western Illinois led the bulk of the game but could never put away the Owls, who kept answering whenever it appeared the Leathernecks had delivered the knockout blow.

“This may not have been the game we wanted to have there, I would have liked to come out and play well, but one of the positives is we won,” WIU coach JD Gravina said. “I do see teams lose those games when you’re playing poorly and the other team has nothing to lose and you end up losing that game so I’m glad we made a few plays down the stretch.”

Whenever Western would get up by multiple possessions, William Woods would storm back to cut the lead to three in the second half. But whenever the Owls looked like they would force a tie, WIU would again answer and push the lead back out to a safe distance as a different player every time would make a big play to keep Western ahead.

“That’s a huge positive, when we were up three I think everyone in the gym was thinking we could lose this game, including our players and their players, so to make some plays and have a lot of kids do it, we have some depth on this team, we feel every single kid can be successful at this level so I hope that as the tide rises, it’s going to raise our whole ship,” Gravina said. “Kyra (Washington, 11 points, four rebounds) had a couple rebounds, Jinda (Guiding, 11 points, four rebounds) made a couple shots around the basket, we had some nice passes, things I expect we should do pretty well. So when we get to a point where that depth helps us because it’s hard to zero in on one person.”

Depth was the key for the Leathernecks as six players scored in double figures. Grace Gilmore led the way, scoring 17 points. Gilmore also added a team-high eight rebounds as well as four steals and three assists.

“It was a good learning experience to be put in a tight game at the end and know that we’re able to finish a game,” Gilmore said.

Olivia Kaufmann added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists while Elizabeth Lutz chipped in with 10 points.

“We’re not going to stop someone if they’re having a night and making shots, we’re going to play good team basketball,” Higginbotham said. “If we know someone is having a night, we’re going to need them to keep shooting but we also know we have a lot of people who can score and that gives defenses so many people to guard when there’s not just one person to focus on, it makes us more versatile and hard to guard.

“No matter which way it goes, as long as we’re getting the wins that’s what matters.”

The Leathernecks would shoot 37.7 percent from the floor, hitting 29-77 shots. WIU went 14-40 from beyond the three-point arc and hit 9-16 free throws. Western was outrebounded 43-38 but outscored the Owls 10-3 on second-chance points. Bench play was a major factor as Western outscored Williams Woods 24-11 off the bench.

“I would like for this team to get where we were the last two years where we have someone go off for 25, 30 points but we can also have games where we have five or six kids get 10 or 12 points, that’s the way we can play,” Gravina said. “If teams really want to make sure Tay doesn’t get off threes, then we have some other kids who can get to the basket and score. If they want to lay off us we have a couple kids who can shoot threes so we have the potential to have someone get to that but at the same time we can spread our scoring around. That’s a positive, both things we’re capable of doing.”

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